<\/p>\nKatalea Ford references a sketch of the ‘Cherries Jubilee’ set during rehearsal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Provided by Jefferson Performing Arts Society<\/span> The integrity of the play remains the same as its original run, addressing topics such as divorce, abuse\u00a0and homosexuality. It also pokes fun at distinctly New Orleans culture, like asking, \u201cWhere did you go to school?\u201d \u2014\u00a0which always refers to high school rather than college. Mentions of iconic local businesses like Langenstein\u2019s, Commander\u2019s Palace, Galatoire\u2019s and The Blue Room are also heard throughout the play.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe script benefits from a lively sense of humor, with a bumper crop of laugh lines that actually get laughs,” Gambit theater critic Dalt Wonk wrote in 2001.<\/p>\n
That’s thanks to\u00a0the camaraderie between Pulitzer and her three friends who helped write the script \u2014 Harriet Nelson, Lynne Goldman and Marcy Nathan.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It took a little convincing to get everyone onboard, as no one had playwriting experience.\u00a0With a tenacious nature, Pulitzer said she isn\u2019t usually deterred when told she can\u2019t accomplish something.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have the credentials, but I have the desire,\u201d Pulitzer said, remembering how she felt at the time.<\/p>\n
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\n <\/p>\nThe cast of ‘Cherries Jubilee’ with Joyce Pulitzer. Back row, from left: Dana Panepinto, Lauren Smith, Savannah Chiasson,\u00a0Lorna Dopson and Michaela Brown. Front row, from left: Joyce Pulitzer and Lauren Gauthier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Provided by Jefferson Performing Arts Society<\/span> Pulitzer fondly recalls the writing process, saying it often felt like a party. The four women would get together at coffee shops or one another\u2019s homes to eat, vent and share ideas. According to Pulitzer, if you can talk, you can write a play, as dialogue is the leading force.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took years to finalize the script, as it went through multiple rewrites and was critiqued by Goldman\u2019s friend Henry Heymann, who has a Yale degree in drama and directing experience.\u00a0Pulitzer described Heymann as a \u201cguardian angel,\u201d noting he played a key role in shaping the final play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“It was group therapy,” Goldman told Cuthbert in 1999. “We knew we weren\u2019t breaking new ground here, but we got together and laughed and blew off steam.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n <\/p>\nLauren Smith and Michaela Brown rehearse ‘Cherries Jubilee.’<\/p>\n
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Provided by Jefferson Performing Arts Society<\/span> Pulitzer said there was no pride over authorship; it was a true collaboration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everyone were a quarterback, they wouldn\u2019t win the football game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Co-directed by Rucker and Michael Vaughn, the 2026 revival of “Cherries Jubilee” features Savannah Chiasson, Lorna Dopson, Michaela Brown, Lauren Smith, Lauren Gauthier and Dana Panepinto.<\/p>\n
Those working behind the scenes are Katalea Ford, Grant Vicknair, Kate Jensen, Alexis Mancuso and Amanda Cavalier.<\/p>\n
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Visit jpas.org<\/a> for tickets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A promise that Joyce Pulitzer made to her mother is once again being realized on a New Orleans-area stage this week, as a hit play from the early 2000s opens on the West Bank.\u00a0 Pulitzer put her whole heart into \u201cCherries Jubilee,\u201d a play about five female friends who graduate from Newcomb College in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2406086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[128321],"class_list":["post-2406085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-hardwall"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Cherries-Jubilee-brings-New-Orleans-humor-to-West-Bank.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406087,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406085\/revisions\/2406087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2406086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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